Messages - mobo

cancelling twice is an ever harder decision than cancelling once... if you feel like you didn't do your best, and that will lead to a score that you will have a hard time living with, i would cancel even if it is your second cancellation.

after all, you do have october ahead of you, without jeopardizing the application process for 2006/2007. if you can live with a score lower than your 'minimum', don't cancel, otherwise, i would.

for me, it was important that my score reflect my best ability, and NOT me screwing up the variables i could control with practice, like keeping calm, preparing well, managing time well, staying focused. i wanted to take the best test i could take, and then let my score be whatever it is. (which leaves me with no excuses once i get the score!) i took dec 04, ran out of time, lost focus, didn't have my head in the game, so i cancelled the score.

i practiced regularly between feb and june, and i retook it yesterday. even if i get the exact same score as i would have in dec (and we shall never know), i feel better about my effort this time, and i know i gave it my best shot. i trained the way i tested, so i tested the way i trained and it made a big difference.

you only get one real shot at this, the question i would ask myself in your shoes is, do i want to settle for less than the best i can do?

there is a third option you could consider if you believe that your lsat score is really NOT indicative of your ability to perform in ls...

finish your applications as soon as you can so the adcomms look at the application with the oct score - you get the benefit of sooner rather than later...then go the best school you get into. study hard for the june lsat next year (or the dec one this year if you don't want to study for the lsat while you are in law school) and transfer to the school of your dreams knowing they will look at the higher dec/june lsat in addition to your 1st year grades.

i have no idea if transferring after first year is super unusual? it seems almost all schools accept transfer students...

and on an aside...you aren't behind if you use the time wisely to do something you really enjoy, or believe in. after all, i graduated in '90, and most of my friends who went to law schools are on their third careers.

everything i have read says that the lsat and your gpa are going to show the adcomms how well you are going to do in law school - and that the ps is more to get a sense of the story of the individual behind the numbers. so it is interesting to me to read about making sure to focus on the why i want to be a lawyer aspect of it.

so back to the original question about the picture in the essay about giving up a child for adoption...

in my VERY humble opinion, i think adcomms are looking for prospective students whose beliefs and experiences cover a wide spectrum, and not necessarily people who agree with their own moral or political belief systems. i imagine that they look for someone who can show a thoughtful decision making process that relies on a combination of core philosophical belief and rational argument.

the subject matter of giving up a child for adoption could definitely show your individual belief systems, which. if not preachy or moralizing (which it doesn't sound like it would be based on your posts) would give them a strong sense of an critical formative event in your life and a view of how you handled, and continue handling its repercussions. having to make difficult choices, by their nature, show that you have an ability to see both sides of an argument, since if you only saw one side...the choice would be easy, wouldn't it?

i imagine too that you are drawing a clear connection between that event, who you are today, and who you are working to become (of which your future law school education is a part).

oh. and no on the picture. in any application, not just yours. words are a lawyer's first tool, so use 'em and wow 'em.